1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adapter for a cable connector for electrically connecting one end of a flexible and flat cable such as a flexible flat cable or a flexible printed wiring board to the cable connector provided on a wiring board.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cable connector is practically employed in making the electrical connection between electric components inside an electronic apparatus. The cable connector has a connection structure of a cable for electrically connecting an electric component or a printed wiring board (PB) for an electronic apparatus via a flexible cable such as a flexible flat cable (FFC) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPC), for example.
Such cable connection structure as the cable connector comprises a male connector formed at one end of the cable and a female connector provided on the electric component or printed wiring board, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,412, for example.
The male connector formed on the cable side is conventionally formed by thermally welding a reinforcing plate made of an electric insulating synthetic resin on one surface of the cable end portion using adhesives, as disclosed in the above patent document. The male connector is formed with an external electrode (pad) for signal line or the like on the other surface of the cable where the reinforcing plate is not mounted.
In electrically connecting the electric components or wiring boards for an electronic apparatus with the flexible cable, all the electric components or wiring boards are not arranged linearly. Accordingly, the flexible cable may be often bent or twisted in making the wiring.
By the way, the male connector formed on the cable side is simply connected by thermally welding the reinforcing plate made of the electric insulating synthetic resin onto the cable using the adhesives, as described above. Accordingly, even with the flexible cable, if a torque such as twist is applied to the flexible cable, there is risk that the cable is peeled from the reinforcing plate in some cases.
In the light of the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the invention to provide an adaptor for a cable connector as a male connector that can be easily thermally welded with the cable to fix securely the cable, and can prevent the cable secured by adhesives from being peeled, and further can be easily mounted on a receptacle as a female connector.